AOL ranked tops in e-commerce

CBS.MarketWatch.com

America Online
AOL
was the Web's largest online retailer in March, according to a monthly report by NextCard
NXCD
an issuer of credit cards. AOL moved into the top spot, from second place, ousting Amazon.com
AMZN, +0.17%
from the first place perch it's held for seven months. NextCard arrives at its rankings by measuring the number of transactions on Web sites by users of its credit card. "Sock puppet publicity and coupon discounts by Pets.com
IPET
(18th) contributed to its 380 percent increase in transaction volume, while Drugstore.com
DSCM
(15th) regained the top position within online pharmacies for the first time this year," said Thomas Byrne, vice president of NextCard. He said flower and gift merchants realized the largest percentage decline after strong Valentine sales in February. MotherNature.com and Onvia made significant volume increases, ringing up sales gains of more than 400 percent as a result of successful Web and viral marketing programs, he added.

Nielsen tallies Web use in US cities

Four of the top five markets with the highest percentage of Internet access are on the west coast of the U.S. Those with the highest percentages of people who have access to the Internet are San Francisco (61 percent), Seattle (58 percent), Washington DC (56 percent), Portland (55 percent) and San Diego (54 percent), according to Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings
NTRT
"Markets that are well known technology centers lead the pack in terms of Web penetration," said Allen Weiner, vice president of analytical services at NetRatings. The data shows a strong correlation between Web penetration and usage time," he added. San Francisco, Denver and San Diego, all in the top 10 in Web penetration, have usage in excess of 10 hours per person, said Weiner.

Nielsen is calculating Internet accessibility in 20 national markets as part of a service for advertisers which want to know audience demographics, site traffic and time spent per person. "Similar to TV, radio and print, the Web can now be viewed through both scopes, allowing greater targeting of ads as well as stronger personalization capabilities," Weiner added.

Keynote will measure international Web performance

Keynote
KEYN
said it will measure the efficiency of dial-up Internet access from 10 cities outside the United States. Operators of e-commerce businesses are expected to be most interested in this new service which will gauge the availability of their sites. "According to IDC, U.S.-based Web sites receive 20 percent of their traffic and 13 percent of their revenue from customers accessing their sites from outside the U.S., making it imperative that U.S. site operators receive vital information regarding the 'dial-up experience' of end-users accessing their sites internationally," said Umang Gupta, chairman and CEO of Keynote. The company's international service provides dial-up measurement data from three ISPs in Amsterdam, London, Mexico City, Munich, Paris, Seoul, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.

Researchers build Web site for kids' business

Harris Interactive Inc.
HPOL
Wednesday announced launch of The Harris Kid Zone (www.HarrisKidZone.com), an opinion polling site for 8-12 year old children. "There's nothing inherently evil in marketers selling things to kids," said Harris's John Geraci, Vice President of the firm's Youth Division, "but it needs to be done responsibly." He said Harris has surveyed nearly a million young people for colleges, educational foundations, consumer products manufacturers media and advertising agencies. "We don't have any qualms providing information to people who have things kids need and want," he explained.

The firm's Web site, and another targeted at teenagers (www.HarrisZone.com), hopes to draw visitors by letting them post own opinion surveys. "Kids can create a poll and check back later to see how other kids responded," Geraci said in an interview with the CBS.MarketWatch.com Radio Network. To participate on the Web site, children's parents must register them. By signing up, they are agreeing to consider letting their sons and daughters participate in market research projects, Geraci explained. "For better or worse, you are going to see more of this (marketing to young people). 'Gen Y' is now 26 percent of the population," he said. "We hope to do it as ethically as we can and keep parents in the process every step of the way," he added.

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